Rustic Pallet Wood Trunk

This rustic trunk was made out of some 1x4 pallet lumber that I picked up from a local farmer. The whole box except the top are 3/4" in thickness, with the top being 7/8" in thickness. To fasten the trunk sides together I used old fashioned fine cut nails that I dipped in vinegar to give a rustic appearance. I also dipped the hardware in the vinegar to add a little patina as well. For the finish, I went with a nice semi-gloss polyurethane.

Time: 8 Cost: $75Difficulty: Easy

If you want to watch how I made the trunk, check the video out above. If you want to see some awesome step by step pics, keep going!

With the side panels cut to length, I edge joint each side and glue them up to make the panels. I do the same with the rest of the panels which include the front, back, sides, bottom, top, and false bottom.

To join the panels to make the box, I nailed the sides to the front and back panels using BT&C fine cut nails. Before nailing them in, I dip the heads of the nail in some vinegar to add some rust to them. This was to add some age to the nails so it would match with the whole project of "rustic". This is what the nails ended up looking like after the vinegar dried. On each of the 4 box corners I attached 2 corner brackets (one at the top and one at the bottom). They came painted a flat black from the store so I used my random orbit sander and 220 grit sandpaper to remove the paint. I then dipped them in the vinegar to once again form some rust on the surface of the brackets. This is what they ended up looking like.

On each of the 4 box corners I attached 2 corner brackets (one at the top and one at the bottom). They came painted a flat black from the store so I used my random orbit sander and 220 grit sandpaper to remove the paint. I then dipped them in the vinegar to once again form some rust on the surface of the brackets. To seal the rust in and to prevent it from rubbing off, I sprayed a coat of polyurethane on them.

With the trunk box and bottom put together, I lightly sand the surface with 180 grit sandpaper. The goal here is to NOT sand away the rough appearance of the wood as that's what makes it look "rustic".

And finally, I made and attached 2 leather handles to assist in lifting the trunk. Thanks for checking my trunk out! If you enjoyed this build, check my YouTube channel out where I build all kinds of things: https://www.youtube.com/simplecove

Brilliant!! Absolutely brilliant! The "fine finish nails" look very similar to horse shoe nails. :) I had to google to see the difference. What exceptionally cool nails!! And so well used in this project. Thank you for all the details.